1 Samuel 17:13
in 1 Samuel 17The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
KJV
And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite
on 1 Samuel 17:12-15
The narrative starts over from Bethlehem, as if to say that the answer to Gath was already growing in Ruth's town. David is the eighth son, keeper of the sheep, and verse 15 has him going back and forth between Saul's court and his father's flock, which is how the anointed of chapter 16 can arrive at this battle as an errand boy. Bethlehem carries the thread that began at Ruth 4:17 and runs to Micah 5:2.
This site's exposition
The firstborn was Eliab
The three sons at the front are the three Samuel passed over at 16:6 to 9, named in the same order. John Gill notes that only these three followed Saul. The rejected brothers carry the spears, and the anointed one keeps the sheep.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But his three eldest sons went off, etc. The teachers of that people, whose three orders we have previously explained, always waged spiritual war, either girded against the allurements of their own flesh and mind, or concerned with instructing others.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), while David himself was so far from being proud of the services he had done his prince, or ambitious of further preferment, that he not only returned from court to the obscurity of his father's house, but to care, and toil, and (as it proved,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Ephrathite. Beis Lechem is located in the land of Ephros. 5 See Bereishis:19.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Dovid was the youngest. Who had previously been in Shaul's palace to play music before him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they had gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת | sheloshet | [the] three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשַׁי֙ | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → | 42 times |
| הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים | hagedolim | <the> old | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הָלְכ֥וּ | halekhu | they had gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵי־ | ʾacharei- | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | lamilchamah | to <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְשֵׁ֣ם׀ | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת | sheloshet | [the] three of | H7969 → | 432 times |
| בָּנָ֗יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָלְכוּ֙ | halekhu | they had gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה | bamilchamah | in the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| אֱלִיאָ֣ב | ʾeliav | [was] Eliab | H446 → | 21 times |
| הַבְּכ֗וֹר | habekhor | the firstborn | H1060 → | |
| וּמִשְׁנֵ֙הוּ֙ | umishnehu | and second his | H4932 → | 35 times |
| אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔ב | ʾavinadav | [was] Abinadab | H41 → | 12 times |
| וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖י | vehashelishi | and the third | H7992 → | 107 times |
| שַׁמָּֽה׃ | shamah | [was] Shammah | H8048 → |
וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּand they had gone
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת[the] three
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] sons of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשַׁי֙Jesse
yishaiH3448 →42 times
הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים<the> old
hagedolimH1419 →526 times
הָלְכ֥וּthey had gone
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵי־after
ʾacharei-H310 →715 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לַמִּלְחָמָ֑הto <the> battle
lamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וְשֵׁ֣ם׀and [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת[the] three of
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
בָּנָ֗יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָלְכוּ֙they had gone
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔הin the battle
bamilchamahH4421 →320 times
אֱלִיאָ֣ב[was] Eliab
ʾeliavH446 →21 times
הַבְּכ֗וֹרthe firstborn
habekhorH1060 →
וּמִשְׁנֵ֙הוּ֙and second his
umishnehuH4932 →35 times
אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔ב[was] Abinadab
ʾavinadavH41 →12 times
וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖יand the third
vehashelishiH7992 →107 times
שַׁמָּֽה׃[was] Shammah
shamahH8048 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 13:3Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:9
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 16:9
Through
1 Samuel 17:28Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…
it leads to
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Genesis 37:8
“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
- Genesis 37:4
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Proverbs 18:19
An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
- Genesis 37:11
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Matthew 10:36
Through
2 Samuel 21:21and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:25–26
Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he…
- 1 Samuel 17:10
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
- 1 Samuel 17:25–26
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).